Three Keys to Believable Three-Dimensional Characters | IFW
When you sit down to write a new story, think about your characters. Giving characters heart, soul, and real faults—yes, faults—is vital to creating memorable characters.
Why A Contest? Here are 7 Lucky Reasons
A writing contest doesn’t seem to be part of that straight line of publication. So why would you enter one? Well, here are seven lucky reasons.
Tighten Up the Weakest Link for a Contest Win | IFW
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Judging a contest is an interesting activity because it happens in layers. The first layer is simply removing from consideration all the entries that are not appropriate at all (prose memoirs sent to a poetry contest for young…
Launching a Story From a Title
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > It’s hard to develop a story when you can’t get started. Though there are many ways into story creation, one that isn’t considered as often is the title. Titles are often tacked…
Story Development: What’s At Stake?
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > One of the most important questions to consider when developing a story is “what is going to be at stake for my main character?” By this, we mean, “What is the cost…
Playing Fair with Plot
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Good stories have lots of moving parts, and it can be challenging to get all the parts to come together in a way that works. Many writers understand that a good plot…
To Outline or Not to Outline: That is the Question | IFW
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > To Outline or Not to Outline: That is the Question There are two types of writers in this world: the kind who outline and the kind who don’t. OK, so that may be a slight exaggeration, but I’ve…
Piece by Piece
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Many times, the compelling urge to write, to create, to make something that reflects our skills and creativity, brings us to the blank page (or blank computer screen) with the intention of…
Write Science Fiction that Will Survive My Scoff-O-Meter
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Can You Write Science Fiction that Will Survive My Scoff-O-Meter? I won’t mince words here. I always hated sci-fi. There. I’ve said it. I realize those are gasps of disbelief (and yes, even horror) emanating from all over…
What’s the Rush?
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > When it comes to writing and submissions, there is such a thing as too soon. In fact, the number one mistake writers make in the area of submitting their work is moving…
Memoir vs. Autobiography: What’s the Difference, Anyway
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > How do I go about writing a memoir? As an editor, I often get asked, “What’s the difference between an autobiography and a memoir?” In framing my answer, I sometimes reply, “All baseballs are round, but not all…
(Brow)beaten Into Submission?
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Submit only when your work is ready, not when your family or friends think you should. Sometimes, the most well-meaning folks can do the greatest harm to an aspiring writer. If Great Aunt Harriet insists your writing is…
Get Out of Your Comfort Zone: Try Nonfiction | IFW
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Get Out of Your Comfort Zone: Try Nonfiction For most people considering children’s writing for a career (or even for a hobby), the type of writing that comes to mind is fiction. For many of us, the picture…
Idea Starters: Map Your Ideas
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > An offshoot of mining for stories is mapping ideas. For me, it started as a way to think about and control how much money I make on my stories. Those of us who write for publication have all…
A Raven and A Writing Desk
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > “How is a raven like a writing desk?” When Lewis Carroll first wrote the riddle about the raven and the writing desk, he didn’t have an answer. It was simply a riddle…
Idea Starters Mining Your Stash
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > If you are like me, writing can be a series of stops and starts. It is all a part of the process. I have a ton of ideas that may have been great but as I started writing,…
Using an Object for Inspiration
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Over the holidays, as I was putting out the holiday decorations, my daughter and I took time to talk about some the ornaments and other well-loved decorations. Some decorations brought back memories…
Where to Find Great Ideas
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > The Hunt for Good Ideas Last week, we talked about having a system in place to keep your ideas organized, now it’s time to dig deep into where you find them. Sometimes the best ideas show up when…
Organizing Your Ideas
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > As we start a new year, we also often face the big scary thing—a blank page of a new project. If you’re lucky, you already have an idea for the next story, novel or essay in mind. But…
Not All Children’s Books Are Picture Books
Children’s literature covers a vast area. There are picture books, chapter books, novels, graphic novels, and more. Find out which one is a good fit for you!
